Sleuth (1972)

I've noticed that my reviews boil down to evaluations of a film on two key spectra: the ranking of good/flawed/bad as applied to the people in front of the camera and the people behind it. With a film like the original Sleuth - in which only three characters ever appear on camera (Jolly Jack, pictured at left with Michael Caine, doesn't count) - makes both qualities infinitely more integral to a film's success.

It is almost impossible to discuss Sleuth without spoiling at least something about the film, and so I frontload this review with the overarching opinion before going into greater details. (Consequently, then, this review may be more brief than my readers are accustomed.) When all is told, Sleuth is worth the watch, even if it comes at the expense of a puzzling and slow-moving first third. If you're interested in watching two fantastic actors - Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine - go head to head, Sleuth is as good a choice as any.

With that out of the way, let's begin. Olivier plays Andrew Wyke, a wealthy member of the aristocracy who prides himself on his razor-sharp intellect, which he hones by writing mystery novels and solving puzzles in which the pieces are colorless. Caine plays Milo Tindle, a hairdresser who's having an affair with Wyke's wife Marguerite. Wyke invites Milo to his home, revealing he's conscious of the affair but suggesting that he's amenable to a resolution in which he is relieved of the burden of marriage to Marguerite. What follows, though, is a cat-and-mouse game with layers beyond the surface and hidden agendas just out of sight.

The most remarkable trait of this film is Anthony Shaffer's script, which he adapted from his own stage play, and what's remarkable about it is the fact that there are only two characters in the whole thing. And what's remarkable about that is the fact that the film only drags a little at the beginning; the exposition takes a little while to get off the ground, but once it does Shaffer's script becomes an intense confrontation within which a myriad of conflicts play themselves out - class tensions, generational gaps, immigrant-vs.-native, cuckold vs. lover.

The two performances are also quite strong. Olivier is entirely plausible as the arrogant and overconfident genius, while Caine is solid and abundantly entertaining as the novice here, who has to learn the rules of the game as he plays. Watching the two of them spar is as intense as a fencing match; the animosity is palpable, like Gable and Laughton in Mutiny on the Bounty, and the interplay is sufficiently jarring so that it's never quite clear who is on top in this duel of wits.

The only shortcoming of the film is that it's not quite surprising. At least, that was my experience, as a lifetime devotee of The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and other suspense/twist ending flicks. There's a fairly surprising twist about an hour into the movie, but the rest of it plays out in fairly unsurprising terms. That's not to say that Sleuth is predictable to a fault; it's just that I was able to piece it together fairly quickly and see where it was going (and I'm not bragging). This detracted a bit from my enjoyment of the movie, though other moviegoers may not have the same problem. It's fun, though, to watch it play out since these two actors are doing fine work. For example, when Wyke discovers he's under the scrutiny of Police Inspector Doppler, the twist here is fairly obvious, but the performances are in top form.Sleuth is rated PG, as it contains a few droppings (no pun intended) of the S-bomb, as well as mild violence and psychologically intense confrontations.